Moving from the New England practice squad to the Patriots' active roster in October put a crimp in
Brandon King
's other position with the team - barber.

King joined the Patriots as an undrafted rookie out of
Auburn
and beat the odds by making it through summer workouts, training camp and a practice-squad stint to earn a spot on New England's 53-player roster.

Along the way, the former Thompson High School standout has kept the Patriots looking sharp by giving haircuts to teammates. King said he'd been cutting hair since he was 12.

"Defensively, I feel like I've cut everybody's hair except maybe five or six, and they might have dreads,"
King told
New England Sports Network. "For the most part, the majority of the team. When I was in JuCo, I did it. I did it in Auburn. I do it here. Now that I'm active, I don't have a lot of free time. I still have a couple guys that I look out for, but other than that, it's just trying to make sure I keep my main job my main job."

The
Patriots signed King
off their practice squad on Oct. 10. Even though he missed the first three games of the season, King is New England's leading special-teams tackler. When the Patriots host the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, he'll probably be the first player down the field covering New England's punts.

"I think he's a natural for the kicking game,"
said Matthew Slater
, the captain of New England's special teams. "He's got a lot of the tools you look for in coverage players, and he has a great want-to to do it. I've been very impressed with him and the way he's been playing."

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King hasn't played a snap with the New England defense. All 118 of his plays have come on special teams. King entered the NFL as a safety and is listed as a defensive back on the Patriots' roster. But he's been getting work at linebacker during practice.

Handling multiple positions isn't new for King. A safety at Auburn, he played some at defensive end to spark the Tigers' pass rush last season. King has found a place in the NFL even though he never started a game in his two seasons at Auburn.

The Bills and Patriots kick off at 7:30 p.m. CST Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. ESPN will televise the game.